Blue Cat`s StereoScope Pro User Manual
Contents
1. V1 61 2010 02 25 e Demo version now displays a nag screen only once per session and only when opening the user interface of the plug in e Mac fixed crash with demo version in Ableton Live 8 1 1 e Mac AU output parameters routing now works for more than one instance in Logic Pro s Environment e Mac AU fixed output parameters that could exceed defined range and not record properly as automation curves V1 6 2010 02 15 e RTAS plugin format support for Pro Tools Mac and Windows e 64 bit applications support for Windows DX and VST under Windows x64 e Mac AU 64 bit format support compatible with 64 bit Logic 9 1 on Snow Leopard e Fixed MIDI learn issues e Space bar does not trigger plug in buttons anymore avoids conflict with transport control in most applications e Mac fixed user interface crashes in some hosts under Snow Leopard e Mac fixed keyboard mouse focus issues in some hosts e Mac fixed user interface crashes in some hosts when used with particular display settings e Mac fixed multiple screens issue e Mac AU fixed user interface resizing issue when changing skin in some hosts Logic e Mac AU fixed settings lost issue when doing offline rendering in some applications V1 5 2009 08 10 e New 3D waterfall view to monitor the evolution of the stereo image over time e Drag the rulers to move the curve when zoomed can keep measurement selection mode and still drag the curves e Output autom2. AAX Mac AU Mac RTAS Mac VST Win e Three detailed views stereo image stereogram evolution of AAX Win DX Win RTAS Win VST Win x64 AAX Win x64 the image over time and output parameters DX Win x64 VST e Animated zoom for all views e Native DSP code for optimal performance e Precise measurement capabilities e Full MIDI control and automation support with silent zipper free e 3D waterfall view with full 3D control parameters update advanced response control and MIDI Learn e solid or wireframe 3D surface display e No CPU load on idle when the plug in is fed with silence the e Integrated correlation meter processing smoothly shuts down to optimize the CPU usage of e Instant peak and average stereo image curves display your Digital Audio Workstation e Easy phase cancelation and mono compatibility issues detection e Skinnable and customizable user interface with transparency e Save the curves for easy A B comparison management e Opacity control for the user interface e Automation and MIDI output record output parameters as e Custom absolute and relative threshold control automation curves or send MIDI CC messages to other plug ins for powerful side chain effects e Smooth Bypass activate deactivate the plug in with absolutely no noise e Undo Redo e Import Export presets in a host independent format e Any sample rate supported system Requirements An OpenGL compatible graphics card for the 3D
3. Especially with third party skins the experience may be quite different from the one offered by the default skins that we provide However our plug ins and our skinning engine have several standard features that will be available whatever your favorite skin This is what is described in this chapter More information about custom skins can be found in the skins section Main Toolbar and Menu Menu If you right click on the background of the plug in the following pop up menu appears Set Preset Skin w Use Global Skin Undo Redo Load Preset Save Preset Preset Settings Global Settings Check for Updates Get More Skins About The description of the commands associated to each menu item are available below Toolbar In some skins an optional toolbar gives you access to the some of the functionalities of the main menu Icon Name Function Menu Open the main menu a Undo Undo at Redo Redo p gt Load Load Preset Save Save Preset Manual User Manual i About About a Website Opens our website Commands The Commands available from the main menu or the toolbar are e Set Preset Skin change the skin for the current preset e Use Global Skin use the skin defined in the global settings for the current preset This item is enabled only if a skin has been defined for the current preset e Undo Redo undo or redo the latest modifications This includes all changes made to the current preset settings e Load
4. panned to the right You usually want this value to oscillate closely around the center Note that if it moves too fast with a wide amplitude it might make the listener sick e Curve shape it shows the repartition of the audio amplitude in the stereo field Everything above 100 and below 100 in the stereo field is out of phase signal that will be cancelled when summing to mono See the examples below for typical shapes Examples Below is a typical example of a mono signal centered in the stereo field correlation is equal to 1 left and right signals are exactly the same and the curve shows a single spike in the center of the screen Window Opacity Stereogram Output 0 0 97 Mouse Cures m instant D m Peak D O Average Below is a typical display for an out of phase signal that will produce a very low mono output almost silent in this case Note the correlation close to 1 and the peaks that appears in the extreme left and right parts of the screen Window Opacity Stereo Stereogram Output Curves El Instant Finally a typical commercial track will have in average more content in the center and a continuously decreasing amplitude on the left and rights of the stereo field You can also note that most peaks will appear in the center of the stereo field as shown by the peak curve Correlation is typically in the middle between 0 and 1 showing a good stereo percept
5. Arrow Page Up Large increment of the position up or right Page Down Large decrement of the position down or left Small increment of the value of the control Small decrement of the value of the control d Set to default value same as mouse right click Opens the fine tuning window to precisely set the parameter e KELU Jain 3 00 dB When the key is down the fine tuning mode is on and you can modify the value with SHIFT better precision when moving the mouse the mouse wheel or using the keyboard Just release the key to get back to the normal mode Keys Specific to Buttons Key Action Enter Pushes the button More Check our online tutorial for more screenshots and more examples of our plug ins user interfaces Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro Parameters All parameters described below can be automated and controlled via MIDI if your host application supports it You can precisely define this behavior in the settings panels described later in this manual Input Param id Name Unit Description General dsp inputO Bypass Bypass the effect dsp input1 Precision Precision of the stereo field analysis The higher the setting the higher the resolution and the higher the CPU consumption dsp input2 Attack ms Attack time for the stereo image envelope follower dsp input3 Release ms Release time for the stereo image envelope follower dsp input4 Peak Reset Hz Rate of the peak curve reset If set to 0
6. Min minimal value of the parameter when MIDI controlled e Max Maximum value of the parameter when MIDI controlled 0127 MIDI Al Parameters E Bypass Param 1 Param 2 WNE Param 3 5 i Param 4 Param 5 Param 6 Param 7 Param amp s a 4 Param 9 Param 10 Param 11 Param 12 Param 13 naaa aai DL ITHORBAaAAABABAAaAGAaA GA UL a ay a O a Deen 14 Lasers Linas generic screen shot does not correspond to the actual plug in parameters Note if the Min value is higher than the Max value the response curve will be reversed increasing the control value will decrease the parameter value Note if you double click on the parameter text control boxes for the max and min values a fine tuning edit box will appear and let you change the min and max values with more precision Global MIDI Output Settings You can set the same properties for the output parameters as for the input parameters in this case they may trigger MIDI CC messages or generate automation curves when modified Since it s output you cannot set the channel to MIDI Omni so you must choose a channel a Global Settings MIDI Output Parameter Name Channel CC Enable 1 16 0127 MIDI All Parameters 1 al Out Param 1 Out Param 2 ug Out Param 3 5 a Out Param 4 Out Param 5 Out Param 6 Out Param 7 Out Param 8 vUUoE Out Param 9 FGOoRBBaABRAAaA GA PERCE EEE aE Out Param
7. View Windows Mac OS X e An SSE2 enabled processor Pentium 4 or later e An Intel or PowerPC processor e Microsoft Windows XP Vista Windows 7 or 8 e Mac OS X Mavericks 10 9 Moutain Lion 10 8 Lion 10 7 e Any DirectX VST RTAS AAX compatible host software 32 or Snow Leopard 10 6 or Leopard 10 5 64 bit e Any VST Audio Unit 32 64 bit RTAS AAX compatible mwnlianaaAntiawn appiicatlori For more information about supported platforms see our FAQ Installation Blue Cat Audio plug ins cannot be run standalone they require a host application see the System Requirements chapter for more information Depending on which host application you use you might need to install the plug ins in different locations Windows Install All versions of the plug in provide an installation program Follow the steps of the wizard to install the plug in on your machine During the installation you will be asked where you want the plug in s to be installed For the VST version you should install the plug in inside the VST plug ins folder used by your host application s The default path set in the installer should work for most applications but you should check your host software documentation to know where it looks for VST plug ins Some applications will not automatically rescan the new plug ins so you might have to force a refresh of the plug ins list Upgrade When a new version of the plug in is releas
8. and select the appropriate channel and CC number The plug in will then send MIDI messages to the host application Check our tutorials for a detailed explanation of MIDI output routing in your favorite host Plug ins Formats What are DirectX DX Audio Unit AU RTAS AAX and VST plug ins VST Audio Unit RTAS AAX and DirectX plug ins are software components than can be used in Host Software such as Cakewalk Sonar Steinberg Cubase or Wavelab Sony Vegas Logic Pro Garage Band Ableton Live Pro Tools in order to perform some MIDI and Or Audio real time Processing tasks To be more precise what we usually call directX plug ins is actually a DirectShow Filter VST is owned by Steinberg DirectX by Microsoft while Audio Units is the property of Apple Computers and RTAS and AAX are owned by AVID How can I use your plug ins Download and install a host software then download and install the plug ins from our page They will appear in the host effects menu If you are using a DirectX host with our MIDI controllable plug ins and they do not show up in you host list you might need to use our freeware DXi Manager Note that our plug ins are sometimes shown in the MIDI controllable audio effects or soft synths sections in some host applications Where can find a host There are many commercial or freeware hosts that will suit your needs You can find a long list of applications here You can also use demos of Cubase Wa
9. skin Skin file path C Program Files Blue Cat Audio Plugins My Plugin Skins default xml Browse Preset MIDI Input Settings Use the global settings or override them for the current preset The parameters are the same as for the global input settings Use global setting Parameter Name Channel COC Enable Response 016 0127 MIDI All Parameters Linear ia Bypass Linear Param 1 Linear Leam Leam Param Linear Param 3 Linear HACE Param 4 Leam Linear Param 5 Leam Linear Param 6 Leam Linear Leam Linear Leam Linear Lean Linear 3 PIECE THAaRBAAaRBARAAAA a GB b ca Leam Linear L Leam Linear Leam Linear BEgEHEGBGEBEIE E l eam inear generic screen shot does not correspond to the actual plug in parameters Preset MIDI Output Settings Use the global settings or override them for the current preset The parameters are the same as for the global output settings Response Linear AAA IBGE Linear m tu J fm 4 tl 3 Linear Linear Leam Linear Leam Linear Lean Linear 3 Leam Linear Leam Linear Leam Linear FHRHAaAaAaAAaAaaAaA a OG JEE EE i Leam Linear generic screen shot does not correspond to the actual plug in parameters Preset Automation Output Settings Use the global settings or ov
10. trying to record automation curves as shown in the tutorials but it does not work What do have to do If your host application lets you select the parameters for which you want to record automation check that the parameters you want to record are enabled You also need to check that the plug in automation output is enabled for these parameters Check the Preset or Global settings Automation Output pane and select the parameters you want to record When use the plug in in a project every time I save the project my application shows it as unsaved right away How can solve this issue This plug in produces automation output and some host applications consider that any change to one of the output parameters is a change for the project In order to solve this problem and if you do not use the automation output capability of this plug in you can disable automation output from the plug in settings panel Global or Preset Settings Automation Output pane uncheck all parameters MIDI Output How can enable the MIDI output of the plug in If your host application supports it you can choose to send MIDI CC messages based on the output parameters computed by the plug in The feature is not enabled by default so you need to go to the current preset settings of the global settings if you want to enable this for all instances not recommended and open the MIDI output pane For each parameter you are interested in enable MIDI output
11. 10 5 T g 4 generic screen shot does not correspond to the actual plug in parameters Note if the Min value is higher than the Max value the response curve will be reversed increasing the control value will decrease the parameter value Note if you double click on the parameter text control boxes for the max and min values a fine tuning edit box will appear and let you change the min and max values with more precision Global Automation Output Settings If your host application does not let you choose which parameters to record as automation curves you may need to choose the automation enabled parameters in the plug in itself In this pane you can decide which output parameters of the plug in will record automation for all instances of the plug in a Global Settings Automation Output 3 E generic screen shot does not correspond to the actual plug in parameters All parameters are disabled by default Click on the check box to enable disable automation for a parameter The Current Preset Settings Window In this window you can change the settings for the current preset of the current instance of the plug in only Preset Skin You can choose to use the global skin setting or to change the skin for the current preset This way you can have different skins for different instances of the plug in in the same session in order to differentiate them SETLI MIDI Input MIDI Output Use global
12. Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro User Manual E nenu i P E JE Load E mi Freeze Window Opacity Stereo Stereogram Output m instant m Peak TRANSFORM ENVELOPE ADJUST THRESHOLD RESET Precision Pan Law Attack Releas Peak Reset Absolute Relative Peak P Cosine Detailed stereo image analysis with 3D visualization k a AN y6q C RA O DAG Table Of Content e Introduction e Description e Features e System Requirements e Installation e Using Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro e The User Interface e Operation e Blue Cat Audio Plugins Basics e User Interface Basics e Controls e Keyboard e Mouse e More e Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro Parameters e Input e Output e Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro Curves e Plug in Settings e The Global Settings Window e The Preset Settings Window e About Skins e Changing the Skin e Create a Custom Skin e Frequently Asked Questions e More e Extra Skins e Tutorials e Updates e Versions History Note An online version of this user manual is available here Introduction Description Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro is a real time stereo field analyzer with multiple views and MIDI automation output capabilities It is a powerful help to analyze how the audio signal is spread in the stereo field and you can easily detect potential phase and mono compatibilities issues The stereo analysis can be controlled in details and the precise measurements capabilities combined with the zoom
13. Preset load preset from file e Save Preset save current preset to file e Presets Settings open the presets settings window It enables you to change the skin and MIDI settings for the current preset e Global Settings open the global settings window It enables you to change the skin and MIDI settings that are used by default in all instances of the plug in e User Manual open this user manual e Check Updates check the updates for this software on our website e Get More Skins get more skins for this software e About displays the about dialog box MIDI control Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro can also be remotely controlled via MIDI using MIDI CC Control Change messages if your host application supports it It is possible to customize the channel control numbers and range used for each parameter in the MIDI settings panel available from the main menu see the Plug in Settings chapter for more details Controls Examples Here are a few examples of typical controls you will encounter in the user interface of our plug ins slider slider knob button Text control You can interact with the controls of the plug in interface either with the mouse or the keyboard Interacting with Controls Setting the keyboard focus on a control so that it responds to key strokes may be automatic when you pass the mouse over it it gets focus or manual you have to click on the control to set the focus on it Note that all ho
14. able displays let you monitor what is exactly happening Choose your preferred view for your needs real time stereo field display evolution of the stereo image over time 2D or 3D or output parameters that explicitly describe the average position and extent of the audio signal in the stereo field The 3D waterfall view lets you see in details from your preferred viewpoint the evolution of the stereo image over time The four memory slots let you store any curve in memory it helps you make comparisons between several tracks or effects setup very easily You can compare your mix with other commercial hits Like our other professional analysis tools the output parameters of this plug in can be used to control other effects in real time the generated automation envelopes or MIDI CC messages include the minimum and maximum positions in the stereo field and the perceived position based on the audio energy spread in the stereo image Check the DP Meter Pro Tutorials to see how to use this capability within your favorite host Thanks to Blue Cat s skinning language support and the included window opacity management feature you can adapt the plug in user interface to your personal needs and enhance your workflow work faster and more efficiently For multiple tracks stereo analysis you want to give a try to Blue Cat s StereoScope Multi plugin Features Main Features Blue Cat Audio Standards e Real time stereo image analyzer e Available as Mac
15. ans they have nothing in common It can be the case when left and right channels are different instruments playing different parts When the value reaches 1 both signal are negatively correlated It means that when summed to mono they will cancel each other You usually want the correlation value to stay above 0 to avoid phase cancellation issues Position with transform applied Min position with transform applied dsp output5 Max Position Max position with transform applied Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro Curves The StereoScope Pro plug in provides visual feedback about the stereo image of the audio signal thanks to output curves The stereo content curves represent the intensity of the audio signal value between 0 and 1 according to the position in the stereo field value between 1 5 and 1 5 see the explanation in the previous chapter Curve id Name Description dsp output_curveO Instant Stereo Image Instant stereo content of the audio signal dsp output_curve1 Peak Stereo image Maximum value of the stereo image over time dsp output_curve2 Average Stereo Image Average value of the stereo image over time Plug in Settings In addition to the controls offered in the main user interface Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro has various settings that let you fine tune the behavior of the plug in You can choose to change these settings either for the current preset or globally for all instances of the plug in The Global Settings Win
16. ation is now disabled by default e Updated documentation e Bug Fix PC Cubase freezes when loading a preset using a different skin while the plugin window is open V1 41 2009 05 05 Mac VST update fixed incompatibility issues with Cubase 5 on Mac V1 4 2009 02 27 e Mac Audio Unit support e Improved accuracy of MIDI output e Automation output can now be disabled for hosts that do not propose automated parameters choice e New Windows Installer you should uninstall any previous version before installing this new one e New documentation format V1 3 2008 12 10 e Now available for Mac in VST format e Minor user interface changes V1 2 2008 02 25 e Fixed a crash on certain configurations while opening the global settings window e Settings window is now faster to open V1 1 2007 12 13 e Improved display refresh rate e New zoom by selection feature analysis is now even smoother V1 0 2007 11 05 First version Thanks again for choosing our solutions See you soon on www bluecataudio com FLUE CAT AUDIO
17. d to match your preferences e Center position is now displayed with numbers in addition to the graphical meter e Windows improved settings dialog loading time e Mac user interface performance improvement up to 30 lighter on cpu V1 82 2011 02 10 e Fixed keyboard focus stealing issue in Pro Tools and several other host applications e Controls visibility is now persistent V1 81 2010 11 29 Fixed incompatibility issues with older presets in the previous version V1 8 2010 11 18 e 64 bit Mac VST support e User interface enhancements e Improved readability e Zooming is now animated e Controls can be collapsed to reduce the size of the user interface and focus on the analysis e Improved consistency with our other analysis tools e Improved MIDI and automation output precision now prevents hosts from wrongly interpolating between values e Default release time is now shorter V1 7 2010 06 19 Performance Improvements all platforms e Improved user interface performance and increased graphs display refresh rate e Improved signal processing performance up to twice faster on some systems The plug in now requires a processor supporting SSE2 e Reduced memory footprint e Faster skin loading V1 62 2010 03 19 This update only concerns the RTAS version of the plug in e RTAS plug in bug fix when using both the mono and stereo versions in the same session the controls of the instances were linked together
18. dow The settings available in this window apply to all instances of the plug in for all presets if not overriden in the presets settings Consider these settings as default settings Global Skin You can change the default skin for all instances of the plug in write the skin file path in the text edit box or click on the button to open a file chooser dialog If you have several instances of the plug in opened in your session you will have to re open the user interfaces of these plug ins to see the skin change a Global Settings Skin file path C Program Files Blue Cat Audio Flugins My Plugin Skins default xml Global MIDI Input Settings For each parameter you can define a default MIDI channel and CC number You can then control the plug in with an external MIDI controller or one of our plug ins that generate MIDI messages The following settings are available for each plug in parameter e Channel MIDI Channel for the parameter control If set to 0 the plug ins will accept Control Change Messages from all MIDI Channels MIDI Omni mode e CC Control Change Number e Learn click on this button to activate the MIDI learn functionality When it is activated you can move your MIDI controller and the plug in will automatically set the MIDI Channel and CC Number e Enable MIDI enable disable the MIDI control of the parameter e Response response curve of the MIDI control from very fast to slow control e
19. e you can drag the graph with the mouse click on the graph when the cursor is a small hand and drag to move in the graph 5 Rulers can be dragged with the mouse when the graph has been zoomed They display the scales for the x and y axis 3D Waterfall Mode In 3D mode the stereo image is represented as a 3D surface with the same color scale as the 2D plot Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro Window Opacity Stereo Stereogram Output Display O 20 m 30 SHOW o O Peak Reset r Lr This 3D stereogram view lets you move the 3D graph within the screen so that you can choose your favorite viewpoint Please note that the measurement tool is not enabled in this mode You can use the following controls for 3D movement e Mouse drag rotate the object e Hold Ctrl key and mouse drag translate the object e Rotate mouse wheel zoom unzoom you can hold the shift key for higher precision e Mouse right click reset position to default as shown above G3 Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro Window Opacity Stereo Stereogram Output Display O 20 m 3D Show mj O Peak Reset It is still possible to use the zooming capability offered by the two sliders on the top left corner of the view It will have the same effect as in the 2D view zooming either the time axis or the stereo position axis Note that when the surface has been rotated these two axis may not be in the same direction as the sliders anymore Output View This vie
20. ed just launch the new installer it will update the current installation Uninstall To uninstall the plug in simply launch the Uninstall program that is available in the start menu or in the configuration panel It will take care of removing all files from your computer Mac Install On Mac the plug ins are available as drive images After download double click on the file to open it You can then drag and drop the plug in file s to the shortcut that is provided within the image It will install the plug in s for all users on the machine In case you do not have admin rights on your Mac or if you want to install the plug in s to another directory just copy the files to the appropriate location If required more information is available in the README txt file that is included in the package Upgrade When a new version of the plug in is released open the new image and copy the files over the previous ones The new version will replace the older one Uninstall To uninstall the plug in simply remove the plug in components from the folder where you have copied them during install move them to the trash p Using Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro 88 lt lt lt i lt i lt i lt isS Note The main toolbar menus and basic features available with all our plug ins are detailed in the Blue Cat Audio Plug ins Overview The StereoScope Pro is bundled with a single skin You may want to c
21. egas tutorial it is applicable to other applications than Sony Vegas If you are using the Direct X version and your host application supports DXi check that the plug in does not appear in the virtual synth or synthesizers category If you wish not to use the MIDI capabilities of the plug in and use it as a regular Direct X plug in you can download the freeware DXi Manager and disable the MIDI capabilities of the plug in have installed my plug in on windows 64 bit checked the items above and it still does not show up in my host application What can do You are probably running a 32 bit application If that s the case you need to install the 32 bit version of the plug in the choice for 32 or 64 bit is not determined by the operating system 64 bit windows can run both 32 and 64 bit applications but by the host application that you are using Why are there two plug ins called xxxx Mono and xxxx Stereo installed Mono effects which are effects that do not make any difference between left and right channels are bundled this way for performance reasons Some developers just deliver a stereo Version which also processes twice mono streams The Mono plug in is to be used with mono streams and the Stereo one with stereo streams The effect itself is the same in both cases but the number of processed channels is different this may drastically improve performance for CPU intensive plug ins How do uninsta
22. eqAnalyst Pro spectrum analysis plugin to compare the spectrum of several tracks in different projects using the save restore capabilities of the plugin The f Read More Tutorial Getting Started with Plug ins User Interface Set Preset Skin OT aO Get used to the user interface features of Blue Cat Audio products They have been designed for an optimal workflow so here are the tips and tricks to save time All these functionalities are explain Read More Global Settings User Manual Check For Updates Tutorial Using MIDI Control in Sonar This tutorial will help you understand how to use parameters MIDI control in Cakewalk Sonar It is applicable to any DXi plug in MIDI enabled DirectX plug in Read More Tutorial Using MIDI Connectivity in a Modular Host Plogue Bidule This tutorial shows you how to use the MIDI connectivity of our plugins in a modular host such as Plogue Bidule We are using the Mac version of Bidule in this tutorial The scenario here is very sim Read More Tutorial Using Blue Cat Audio plugins connectivity in Reaper This tutorial shows how to use our plugins MIDI connectivity within Reaper We use Blue Cat s Dynamics plugin as an example but you can use any other audio plugin which provides output parameters SU Read More This tutorial shows how to use the connectivity capabilities of our plugins within Logic We use B
23. erformance issue you might want to uncheck this option Position of the mouse cursor on the display Correlation meter This shows the correlation of the left and right audio signals More information about this parameter can be found in the parameters section later in this manual Rulers can be dragged with the mouse when the graph has been zoomed They display the scales for the x and y axis Stereogram View This view displays the evolution of the stereo image over time Two modes are available 2D display with precise measurement capabilities or 3D waterfall display 2D Mode In 2D mode the stereo image is represented as a 2D color plot the color representing the value of the signal for a given position at a given time In the default color scheme the closer to red the louder and the closer to dark blue the quieter 0 0 s 0 0 44 Display out of phase left m2 4 O30 Mouse F 2 surfaces Eaa O Peak out of phase right 1 Choose between 2D mode this display mode or 3D waterfall mode 2 Two functions are available for the mouse on the graph view either drag the graph when zoomed or display the coordinates of the pointer and value of the stereogram and zoom by selecting an area of the screen 3 Choose to display either the instant curve or the peak curve maximum over time 4 These two sliders let you control the x and y zoom for the graph When the zoom factor is greater than on
24. erride them for the current preset The parameters are the same as for the global automation output settings a Current Preset Settna aE Skin _ MIDI input MIDI Output Use global setting Parameter Name Enable Automation Al Parameters Out Param 1 Out Param 2 Out Param 3 Out Param 4 Out Param 5 Out Param 6 Out Param 7 Out Param amp Out Param 9 Out Param 10 SISSISISISICISIcie generic screen shot does not correspond to the actual plug in parameters About Skins Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro integrates Blue Cat s skinning engine that allows you to customize the user interface You can download new skins for your plug in at the following address http www bluecataudio com Skins Product_StereoScopePro If you don t find a skin that fits your need or if you want a really custom one you can choose to create your own skin Changing the Skin You have two ways to change the skin of your plug in you can change the default or global skin in the global settings or change the skin for the current preset only either in the preset settings page or from the main menu The global skin applies to all plug in instances whereas the current preset skin only applies to the current preset of the current plug in instance See the main menu for more information about how to access these options On some hosts the plug in window won t resize automatically when you choose a skin with a different size In this case j
25. for the transformed max position envelope Specify the pan law for the stereo field analysis This lets you match the values that can be read on the x axis of the graph with the pan pots of your digital audio workstation P Cosine projected cosine law corresponds to a sine cosine pan law projected from a circle to a linear axis Cosine sine cosine pan law Linear The plug in also provides output parameters for automation or MIDI CC generation see below Note that positions in the stereo field are expressed as values between 1 5 and 1 5 Negative values represent positions on the left side and positive values represent positions on the right side The 1 1 range is heard between the speakers and positions outside this range are for out of phase signals that are heard outside the speakers Param id General dsp output0 dsp output1 dsp output2 dsp output6 Transformed dsp output3 dsp output4 Name Position Min Position Max Position Correlation Transformed Position Min Position Unit Description Position of the audio signal computed as the stereo image energy center Similar to balance Minimum position of the stereo image above thresholds Maximum Position of the stereo image above thresholds Correlation of the left and right audio signals When close to 1 the signals are highly correlated mono signal When the value is close to 0 both signals are not correlated It me
26. gidesign Pro Tools RTAS Apple applications Logic Pro Logic Express Garage Band AU Cockos Reaper VST Mac or PC In general we recommend using VST over Audio Unit on Mac when both are supported particularly for the plug ins that can output automation or MIDI CC messages Where can find more information about this topic e www steinberg net e WwWw microsoft com e www kvraudio com e www apple com e www digidesign com Installation have installed my software and it is not listed as an application Why What can do How can I launch it Most software you can purchase on this website is plug ins for host applications It means you need another application to use it See the Plug ins Formats section in this FAQ for more information have installed my plug in and it does not show up in my host application What can I do First check that you application supports DirectX Audio Unit or VST plug ins If you are using the DirectX version check that your host application supports DXi plug ins MIDI enabled DirectX plug ins If it does not it may remove it from the DirectX plug ins list some applications such as Sony Vegas 5 and Cool Edit Pro are known to do this In this case use our DXi Manager free utility and disable the MIDI capabilities of the plug in You may need to reinstall the software again before it shows up into your host application For more information about this topic please read our DXi in Sony V
27. h representing the stereo image of the input audio signal Note that all the content displayed in the red area of the screen extreme left and right is out of phase content that will cancel each other if you sum both channels to mono Mouse Ie E Curves 2 E instant D m Peak p12 a O Average 1 Two functions are available for the mouse on the graph view either drag the graph when zoomed or display the coordinates 10 see item 11 of the graph below the mouse pointer and zoom by selecting an area of the screen Select the curves to display on the screen you can choose the instant curve or the peak cusrve maximum over time or average curve averaged over time The four A B C D buttons let you store the curve to one of the proposed memory slots The curves stored into these slots can be shown hidden with the buttons available in 6 Show Hide curves stored in memory These two sliders let you control the x and y zoom for the graph When the zoom factor is greater than one you can drag the graph with the mouse click on the graph when the cursor is a small hand and drag to move in the graph This meter shows the value of the center minimum and maximum position output parameters It lets you visualize the instant stereo width and energy center at a glance Choose to display filled curves or single curves If your graphics adapter is old and you encounter display p
28. he plugin Threshold controls In order to isolate the loudest parts of the signal and to control how the min and max positions are computed it is possible to set an absolute as well as a relative threshold on the curve If the signal is below the threshold absolute value for the absolute thresold for example 0 5 or value relative to the maximum value for example 30 of the maximum value in the current curve it is reset to the minimum value Interpreting Measurements Principles The main points of interest are the shape of the stereo field curve the correlation value and the position of the energy center or center position They help you understand how stereo and balanced the audio signal is e Correlation value when close to 1 the signals are highly correlated mono signal When the value is close to 0 both signals are not correlated It means they have nothing in common It can be the case when left and right channels are different instruments playing different parts When the value reaches 1 both signal are negatively correlated It means that when summed to mono they will cancel each other You usually want the correlation value to stay above 0 to avoid phase cancellation issues e Center position energy center it represents the overall perceived position of the sound in the stereo field If highly negative close to 100 the sound is panned to the left and if it is highly positive 100 the sound is perceived as
29. his is the main purpose of the StereoScope Pro plugin it provides visual assistance for what your ears cannot detect It is also a convenient way of comparing your audio tracks with reference material as shown in this tutorial shows spectrum comparison but it is also applicable to stereo measurements The analysis can be fine tuned in details to exactly fit your needs This chapter describe in details how you can tweak the analysis Tweak the precision It is possible to tweak the precision of the analyzer the higher the presision parameter the more points are computed to draw the stereo field curve Please note that the higher the precision the higher CPU consumption Customize the time response The attack and release times control how fast the analyzer respectively responds to audio amplitude increase or decrease For example when pushing both parameters to their maximum the instant curve will become a local average of the audio stereo field representation The Max Reset speed control how fast the maximum curve is reset to the instant curve This lets you tweak the max curve so that it follows the instant curve or shows the absolute maximum value of the signal Adjusting the response Thanks to the gain control the curve can be tweaked when the incoming audio signal is too loud or too quiet and the curve does not fit in the screen The gain is applied at the input of the analyzer but does not modify the signal at the output of t
30. ion without mono compatibility issue The energy center is oscillating around the center of the stereo field showing a good left right balance Gg Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro Window Opacity Stereo Stereogram Output m She Envelopes Generation Thanks to this unique capability you can create unique side chain effects controlled by the stereo content of the audio signal The idea is to measure the minimum and maximum positions as well as the balance of the incoming audio and reuse them as controller values for other effects The exact response for these values can be customized in the output pane of the user interface Special controls for MIDI and automation generation are available in the settings window of the plugin For more information about how to use this capability in your favorite host application see our Digital Peak Meter Pro tutorials page this plugin has a similar MIDI CC and automation output capability The Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro Tutorials will give you some more ideas about what to use the generated envelopes for Blue Cat Audio Plug ins Basics This chapter describes the basic features that are common to all our plug ins If you are already familiar with our products you can skip this part User Interface Basics About Skins Like all Blue Cat Audio plug ins Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro uses a skinnable user interface It means that the appearance and behavior of the user interface can be entirely customized
31. ll my plug ins Open the Windows configuration panel Add Remove Programs and choose Remove on the corresponding plug in If you have installed the VST plug in zip file version just delete the corresponding dlls Why do your plug ins need an installer on Windows Do they modify the registry or system settings Why not providing just a dll Our plug ins require several additional files for default settings skins and miscellaneous data We provide an installer for our customers convenience Our installers do not modify the system settings or the Windows registry except for the DirectX versions registration Our installers won t harm your system Software Version How do I know the version of the plug in I am using You can see the version information in the about box right click on the background of the plug in user interface and select About The product version is also available in the Windows Add Remove Programs Window Why do newer versions of a plug in override older ones they have exact same name and IDs Because newer versions improve previous ones When a new version is released older versions are not supported anymore In some cases the new versions may be installed as new products compatibility reasons major changes but it is explicitly documented on the product page A new minor version of a product purchased some time ago is available Where can I download the update The new version can be downloaded fr
32. lue Cat s DP Meter Pro plugin DPMP as an example but you can use any other audio plugin which provi Read More Tutorial Using Blue Cat Audio plug ins connectivity in Pro Tools This tutorial shows how to use the MIDI connectivity of our plugins within Pro Tools We use Blue Cat s DP Meter Pro plugin as an example but you can use any other audio plugin which provides output Read More This tutorial shows you how to get and load free presets for your favorite Blue Cat Audio plugin This tutorial uses Blue Cat s Dynamics for the demonstration but is applicable to all our plugins Read More Updates As you can see in the history log below we care about constantly updating our products in order to give you the latest technology available Please visit our website often to check if Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro has been updated or subscribe to our Newsletier to be informed of the latest news about our products You can also follow us on twitter and facebook for almost real time updates notification and subscribe to our YouTube channel to see the latest videos about our software Versions History V1 9 2013 06 27 e 64 bit AAX support for Pro Tools 11 V1 9 2011 07 11 e Output data rate MIDI CC or automation can now be customized from 20 to 500 Hz e Increased the default output data rate from 20 to 50 Hz for smoother side chaining and more precise display e Several pan laws can now be selecte
33. om the same place where you downloaded the original version All information is contained in the email you received when you purchased the product Your registration number has not changed either Upgrade A new minor version of my plug in has been released Where can download it When you purchased the plug in an email containing the information to download and register your software has been sent to you You can download the new version from the exact same location as the first time have downloaded a new version do I need to uninstall the previous version No you don t except if it s specified on the product page in the history section Just run the installer and it will upgrade your software Automation What is Parameters Automation The parameters of an effect can be automated in most host software It means that you can record the changes you do during playback or recording so that it s replayed when playing back again It s a way of sequencing parameters changes the same way you do with Audio or MIDI data What is Smooth Update When changing parameter values in real time or replaying a song where parameters have been automated our plug ins compute intermediate values between parameter changes in order to avoid clicks and pops that may occur otherwise It results in a non audible smooth parameters update and lets you freely use automation or MIDI control to change the effects in a song Do your plug ins suppo
34. reate your own or download new ones from vww bluec o com The included skin is composed of three panels e The stereo view where you can see the instant average and peak stereo image of the audio signal in real time e The stereogram view showing the evolution of the stereo image over time e The output view where you can monitor and control the output parameters generation De le HER i 2 Freeze Window Opacity Stereo Stereogram Output 1 wes E Antialias Position 150 0 97 o i To T House Curves m Instant D m Peak D O Average p TRANSFORM ENVELOPE ADJUST THRESHOLD RESET Precision Pan Law Release Peak Reset Gain Absolute Relative pr aiin Peak E I a r l i P Cosine 1 d d a 100 0 ms 700 ms 0 00 Hz 1 Choose the view to display 2 You can freeze all curves The Window Opacity slider lets you make the user interface of the plug in transparent Note that the result depends on the host application you are using 3 The controls pane can be collapsed to gain real estate on the screen This changes the size of the user interface of the plug in Some host applications may require you to close and reopen the user interface of the plug in to take this update into account 4 The current view more details for each type of view below 5 The controls displayed at the bottom of the user interface let you modify the parameters for the audio analysis Stereo View This view displays a grap
35. rt MIDI Control Yes they do They offer precise control over the mapping of MIDI Control Change CC messages to parameter values you can adjust both the channel and CC number as well as the response curve of the control Since some of our plug ins are also capable of creating MIDI CC from the audio signal they can all be connected for real time signal dependent audio effects See our MIDI Control in Sonar tutorial for an example More This manual only covers the basics of Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro Our website offers many additional resources for your Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro plug in and is constantly updated so keep an eye on it You will find below a few examples of available resources Extra Skins We encourage our customers to propose their own skins for our products and we often propose alternative skins to let you choose the one that best suits your needs You can check Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro skins page to get the latest skins There were no extra skins for Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro when initially released Please check the skins page to see if new skins are now available Tutorials Many Tutorials are available on our website They cover a wide range of topics and host applications You will find below a list of tutorials that are related to the Blue Cat s StereoScope Pro plug in An updated list is also available online Tutorial Automation Envelopes Generation in MOTU s Digital Performer 7 This tutorial sho
36. st applications behave differently regarding keyboard handling In some applications you may not be able to use all keys described later in this manual to interact with our plug ins It is usually made obvious to you to know the active surfaces of the skin the places where you can click with the mouse the mouse cursor usually changes when you can do something on a control In the default skins delivered with the plug in the cursor changes to a small hand or an arrow to tell you when your mouse Is over an active control Mouse Various mouse movements will let you interact with the controls Mouse Interaction Action Left Click Acquire focus and start dragging or push button Left Click Alt Key Set the value to default Acquire focus and launch the fine tuning edit box except button Left Double Click Right Click Set the value to default Mouse Wheel Increment or decrement the position focus required Mouse Drag Change the control position depending on mouse movement except button Keyboard All control widgets support the following keys note that some of them are caught by the host and thus never forwarded to the control For example in Steinberg Cubase SX you cannot use the arrow keys to control the plug in Keys Common to All Controls Key Action Up Arrow Small increment of the position up or right Down Arrow Small increment of the position down or left Left Arrow Same as Down Arrow Right Arrow same as Up
37. the peaks will never decrease and will represent the maximum value dsp input5 Abs Threshold Absolute threshold for stereo image display The values below this threshold are set to 0 dsp input6 Rel threshold Relative threshold for stereo image display percentage of the maximum value The value below this threshold are set to 0 dsp input7 Gain dB Gain applied to the audio signal before the analysis takes place Can be useful when analyzing signals with low levels dsp input8 Reset Peak Command to reset peak curves value changes are considered as reset commands dsp input9 Reset Average Command to reset average curves value changes are considered as reset commands Output Transformation dsp input10 Position Reverse Reverse the transformed position envelope dsp input1 1 Position Amount Amount for the transformed position envelope dsp input12 Position Offset Offset for the transformed position envelope dsp input13 Min Position Reverse Reverse the transformed min position envelope dsp input1 4 dsp input15 dsp input16 dsp input1 7 dsp input18 dsp input10 Output Min Position Amount Min Position Offset Max Position Reverse Max Position Amount Max Position Offset Pan Law Yo Ao Yo Amount for the transformed min position envelope Offset for the transformed min position envelope Reverse the transformed max position envelope Amount for the transformed max position envelope Offset
38. ust close the window and re open it it will be displayed with the right size Create a Custom Skin You can create custom skins for your plug in in order to adapt it to your exact needs You can change its look and feel and make it completely integrated in your virtual studio Just read the Blue Cat s Skinning Language manual and download the samples for the tutorial on http www bluecataudio com Skins You can get ready to create your own skins in a few minutes You can then share your skins on our website FAQ Automation Output When use the plug in my host application is slowed down and get audio drop outs How can I solve this problem If your host application does not let you select the parameters for which you want to record automation it might be doing some extra work for handling the output parameters generated by the plug in A solution is to disable the output parameters you do not use in the Preset or Global settings Automation Output pane When use the plug in my host application draws many automation curves on the current track and yet I have not touched any control on the plug in How can avoid that If your host application does not let you select the parameters for which you want to record automation it will record automation for all the output parameters generated by the plug in You can disable the output parameters you do not use in the Preset or Global settings Automation Output pane am
39. velab Ableton Live Tracktion or Sonar software which are usually available on the companies websites On the Mac Garage Band is part of the system and can be also used to host our Audio Unit plug ins What are the main differences between DX VST RTAS AAX and Audio Units VST is a protocol that works on several platforms Mainly Windows MacOS BeOS and some Linux platforms use it as well whereas DirectX is Microsoft Windows only and Audio Units are available only on the Mac RTAS and AAX are available on Mac and PC but only for Pro Tools products AVID AAX plug ins are compatible with Pro Tools 10 and higher whereas RTAS versions are compatible for Pro Tools 10 and lower versions What is the difference between DXi and DX effects DXi effects are MIDI controllable DirectX plug ins It s the same as DX effects plus MIDI control Which version VST Audio Unit RTAS or DX should I use in my host application Here is a list of host software and the version we recommend you to use Many other applications are supported check your application user manual to choose the best version AU stands for Audio Unit and DX for DirectX Host Application Plug in Version Cakewalk Products Sonar Project5 DX sony Products Vegas ACID Soundforge DX for old versions VST for new Steinberg Products Cubase Nuendo Wavelab VST Mac or PC Ableton Live VST Mac or PC Adobe Audition any EnergyXT VST Magix Samplitude VST Avid Di
40. w shows the evolution of output parameters over time and lets you control the transform applied to these parameters for automation and MIDI outputs Trans Output m Min Position amount 100 offset O O Reverse m Position amount 100 offset O m amount 100 offset 0 O Reverse 1 1 Controls to modify the output envelopes reverse amount and offset They let you customize the values generated for the transformed output parameters 2 These graphs show the evolution of the transformed output parameters values over time for each channel They represent the center and width of the stereo image above the thresholds The various elements of the user interface knobs sliders buttons are simple and intuitive to operate but more information about how to interact with them is available in the Plug ins Basics chapter of this manual Operation This plug in allows you to visualize the repartition in the stereo field of the audio signal and also to generate MIDI CC messages or automation curves based on the measurements made by the plugin The illustration below shows the principle of this system Visualization Audio Signal Stereo Field Visualization There are many situations where you need to be able to vizualize the stereo repartition of the the signal when your ears are not enough bad monitoring ear fatigue subtle stereo issue that requires visual confirmation mono compatibility check T
41. ws how to reuse the envelopes generated by our plugins with output parameters in MOTU s Digital Performer 7 host software As of today Digital Performer does not receive MIDI events f Read More Tutorial Customize the Colors of your Plugins This tutorial shows how to customize the FreqAnalyst Pro plugin s user interface by changing the color of the displayed curves It is a very basic skinning tutorial All you need to know is how to exp Read More Tutorial Connecting Plug ins with Groups in Cakewalk Sonar This tutorial shows how to reuse the envelopes generated by our plugins with output parameters in Cakewalk Sonar using groups Other techniques exist using MIDI or Automation curves but this one ha Read More Li ous teens arrus This tutorial will teach you how to use any DXi plug in in Sony Vegas Sony Vegas does not support MIDI automation so if your plug in supports the MIDI Dxi protocol it is removed from the plug ins l Read More GECETEDD Dp sonu Tutorial Export Plugin Presets to Share them with the Community mypreset This tutorial shows you how to export your presets in order to share them with the community on the Blue Cat Audio website This tutorial uses Blue Cat s Stereo Triple EQ for the demonstration Presets Files preset bu Read More Tutorial Compare the Audio Spectrum in Several Projects This tutorial shows how to use the Fr
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